The Implant Files is a year-long investigation coordinated by ICIJ, involving more than 250 journalists from 36 countries, into the behaviors of the medical device industry around the world. It traces rapid advances in device technology, and reveals safety regulations have struggled to keep up. Meanwhile, the investor pressure on companies to grow profits has sometimes clashed with the best interests of patients.

Investor attention is often trained on the time it takes regulators to approve new products. Larry Biegelsen, at Wells Fargo, is among many Wall Street analysts to have identified a quickening pace of approvals in the United States in the last three years. In a research note published in June, he said this had led to more patients being treated, to rising sales and profits, and ultimately to stock prices that have outperformed the rest of the market. “We’re calling [it] a virtuous cycle of innovation,” Biegelsen said.